John Shalikashvili

John Shalikashvili
Shalikashvili in August 1993
Nickname(s)"General Shali"
Born(1936-06-27)June 27, 1936
Warsaw, Poland
DiedJuly 23, 2011(2011-07-23) (aged 75)
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, U.S.
Buried
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1958–1997
Rank General
CommandsChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Operation Provide Comfort
9th Infantry Division
1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery
Battles / warsVietnam War
Operation Provide Comfort
Iraqi no-fly zones
Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
AwardsDefense Distinguished Service Medal (4)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (3)
Bronze Star Medal (V)
Meritorious Service Medal (4)
Air Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Alma materGeorge Washington University
Spouse(s)
Gunhild Bartsch
(m. 1963; died 1965)
Joan Zimpelman
(m. 1966)
Children2
Other workVisiting professor, Stanford University
Director, Frank Russell Trust Company
Director, L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.
Director, Plug Power Inc.
Director, United Defense Industries, Inc.

John Malchase David Shalikashvili (Georgian: ჯონ მალხაზ დავით შალიკაშვილი, romanized: jon malkhaz davit shalik'ashvili, IPA: [ʃalikʼaʃʷili]; June 27, 1936 – July 23, 2011) was a United States Army general who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1992 to 1993 and the 13th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997.[1] He was born in Warsaw, Poland, in the family of émigré Georgian officer Dimitri Shalikashvili and his Polish wife Maria Rüdiger-Belyaeva. In 1996, he was the first recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award.[2]

Shalikashvili was the first, and as of 2023 only, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff not born in the United States. He served in every level of unit command from platoon to division.[3] Shalikashvili died of a stroke in 2011 at the age of 75.[4]

  1. ^ Marble, Andrew (2019). Boy on the Bridge: The Story of John Shalikashvili's American Success. University Press of Kentucky. doi:10.2307/j.ctvn5tz24. ISBN 978-0-8131-7802-8. JSTOR j.ctvn5tz24. S2CID 202496492.
  2. ^ "USNWC official website". Archived from the original on November 5, 2011.
  3. ^ Luttwak (August 22, 1993). "Why Clinton Called Upon Shalikashvili". The Sacramento Bee.
  4. ^ Dewan, Shaila (July 23, 2011). "Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, Military Chief in 1990s, Dies at 75". The New York Times.